Free business email in Nepal: set up name@yourbusiness.com.np

Nepal is one of the few countries where the national domain is free. A .com.np name costs nothing to register and nothing to renew, which makes a business email on your own domain genuinely free from end to end. The catch is the paperwork and one technical quirk: the registry does not host DNS, so you need a DNS provider before you can finish. This guide covers the documents, the nameserver step, and why none of it needs a dollar card.

Quick answer

Apply for yourbusiness.com.np at register.com.np (Mercantile Communications) with your company registration or PAN certificate, and give it the nameservers of a free DNS host such as Cloudflare. Once approved, create a free OquMail workspace, add the domain, paste the four DNS records at your DNS host, click Verify and create your mailboxes. Add the mailbox to the Gmail app on your phone over IMAP.

Choosing your domain: .com.np or .com

• .com.np: free, registered at register.com.np, needs a company registration certificate or PAN for a business name, or a citizenship copy for a personal name. Approval takes a few working days.
• .com: paid in dollars, which most Nepali bank cards cannot do online without a separate dollar card and its annual limit. Only worth it if most customers are abroad.
• .np second-level names (.org.np, .edu.np) exist for organisations and schools; a trading business uses .com.np.
• The registry requires nameservers at the time of application. A free Cloudflare account provides them; add the domain there first and copy the two nameservers it gives you.

Why a domain address matters in Nepal

Trekking and tour agencies compete for foreign bookings against operators whose addresses match their websites. Hydropower contractors, construction suppliers and anyone bidding on government or donor-funded work are vetted on documents, and a company email on the firm's own domain is one of them. IT companies and freelancers serving clients in the US, Europe and Australia are judged before the first call. INGOs and development partners expect correspondence from an organisational address. In every case a Gmail address invites the question of whether the business is real.

Step by step: from domain to working inbox

1. Create a free Cloudflare account, add yourbusiness.com.np as a site, and note the two nameservers it assigns.
2. Go to register.com.np, create an account, search for yourbusiness.com.np and apply. Upload the company registration certificate or PAN (for a business name) or citizenship copy (for a personal name), and enter the Cloudflare nameservers.
3. Wait for approval, usually a few working days. The domain becomes active once the registry publishes it.
4. Go to oqumail.com and create a free workspace with your name and a password. No card.
5. In the dashboard choose Add domain and type yourbusiness.com.np. OquMail shows the four DNS records.
6. In Cloudflare, open DNS, Records, and add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records exactly as shown. MX and TXT records are DNS-only by nature; no proxy setting applies.
7. Return to OquMail and click Verify. Create mailboxes: info@, bookings@ or sales@, accounts@ and one per person.
8. Send a test from webmail to a Gmail address, then add the account to the Gmail app or Outlook on your phone.

The four DNS records OquMail needs

• MX — host @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
• SPF (TXT at @) — v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
• DKIM (TXT at your selector ._domainkey) — v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… (the exact key is shown in your OquMail dashboard)
• DMARC (TXT at _dmarc) — v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

OquMail connection settings

• Incoming (IMAP): mail.oqumail.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.oqumail.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Username: your full email address (you@yourdomain.com)
• Password: the same password you use for OquMail webmail

What it costs in Nepal

• The .com.np domain: free to register and free to renew each year; renewal still has to be done or the name lapses
• DNS hosting: free on Cloudflare
• Mailboxes: free on OquMail, up to 15 with 5 GB each, 250 sends a day per mailbox
• Nothing is paid in dollars

Mistakes common in Nepal

• Applying for the domain before having nameservers. The form will not go through; set up Cloudflare first.
• Forgetting the yearly renewal at register.com.np. It is free but not automatic, and a lapsed domain takes the email down with it.
• Registering the domain in an employee's or a web developer's name. Use the company registration and keep the login.
• Nepali names with diacritics in the mailbox name. Keep it plain ASCII; put the full name in the display name.
• Mobile data and most home connections block port 25. Use port 587 in every mail app, which works on NTC, Ncell and WorldLink.

Common questions

Can a sole proprietor get a .com.np?

Yes, with a PAN certificate or business registration from the ward or municipality. Without those, a personal-name domain with a citizenship copy works and can still carry a business mailbox.

Does it work with Outlook and my phone?

Yes. Add an IMAP account with the settings above in Outlook, Apple Mail or the Gmail app, using your full address as the username.

What are the limits?

15 mailboxes, 3 domains, 5 GB per mailbox, no expiry. Extra mailboxes are added on request without touching DNS.

Want to see how your own domain is set up? Use the free SPF checker, DMARC checker and MX lookup: they run in your browser and store nothing.